There may be nothing new under the sun, but in the world of new products for personal lines, carriers are certainly making it appear that way. The research and advisory firm Strategy Meets Action has released a report: Product Development: Insurer Plans and Priorities and the author, SMA partner Karen Furtado, discovered the problems that plague carriers in this area and what they plan to do about it in the next three years.

The competitive challenges in the personal lines market—particularly personal auto—have created an upsurge in new products to the point where it seems like there is a new policy for each customer, according to Furtado.

"Look at something like vanishing deductibles," she says. "That is part of a whole new wave of products. The sophistication behind the differentiation of the competition in personal lines is fierce. The variables are multi-dimensional in rating and personal lines are almost to the point of one-to-one rating."